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DictionaryRoot: -atio
Latin

-atio

an action, process, or result

Forms

  • -atio
  • -ation- — Latin stem used outside the basic noun form.
  • -ation — Borrowed into English through French and Latin.

Origin

Latin -a-, associated with one class of verbs, plus the action-noun suffix -tio.

Note

The same formation can name either doing something or what the action produces.

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noun

subordination

suh-bor-dih-NAY-shuhn/səˌbɔːrdɪˈneɪʃn/

Placement under the authority of something higher.

Etymology
subLatinunder; up from under; subordinate or lesser
+ordinLatinput in order or arrange
+ationLatinan action, process, or result

Arranging people “under” another originally meant placing them in a lower rank. The noun extended from that act of placement to the resulting condition of dependence or submission.

Full entry

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